As a reviewer one encounters remarkable characters every once
in a while. Pietro Gnocchi is definitely one of them. In the
entry on 'Spoof articles' in the 2001 edition of New Grove
David Fallows mentions Gnocchi as an example of "bona fide
musicians whose names and lives look like outrageous fiction".
Gnocchi's biography supports his verdict that "[While] such
men exist in the history of music, spoofs may seem superfluous".

The first thing which attracts the attention is Gnocchi's long
life: he reached the age of 86 which was quite unusual at the
time. He was born and died in Brescia, but he was anything but
a stay-at-home. He studied in Venice, and then travelled for
several years, visiting Hungary, Bohemia, Saxony, Vienna and
Munich. After his return to Brescia in 1723 he became maestro
di cappella of Brescia Cathedral. His attempt to become
also the cathedral's organist was unsuccessful. He tried again
in 1762, and from that year until his death held both positions.

He active not only as a composer. His interests also included
geography, history and archeology. This resulted in a history
of ancient Greek colonies in 25 volumes. It was never published
but has been preserved in manuscript. His various interests
left their mark in the names of some of his works, like a Missa
Europa or Missa Africa, and a Magnificat Il capo
di buona speranza (Cape of Good Hope). His music was also
never printed. Apparently the publication of a series of twelve
volumes was planned, but only a title page and dedication are
known. His oeuvre consists mainly of sacred vocal music and
includes many masses and Requiems, various sets of Vesper music
for the entire church year, and much else. In addition he composed
a small number of canzonettas as well as a few instrumental
works.

His studies in Venice resulted in many sacred works being scored
for eight voices in two choirs. Two of them are included in
the present programme, the two Magnificat settings which are
from the planned publication of Salmi brevi of 1750.
There is little polyphony in Gnocchi's music, and these two
Magnificats are strictly homophonic. The same is true of the
Mass in F which concludes this disc. Two settings of
the Ave maris stella are for solo voices, one for SATB
and bc, the other for soprano solo, two violins and bc. The
Mass in D is divided into various sections for either
tutti or one to three solo voices. In one section oboe and violin
have obbligato parts.

If the music on this disc is representative of Gnocchi's oeuvre
I have to conclude that his music is largely unremarkable. There
is little which catches the ear. One of the nicest pieces is
the 'Gratias agimus tibi' from the Mass in F. The Ave
maris stella for solo soprano, on the other hand, has too
much pattern repetition. The only instrumental piece, the Concerto
II, is scored for four violins, viola and bc, in four movements,
concluding with a pastorale. Again there is little that
deserves notice.

I have to add, though, that the performances make an assessment
of Gnocchi's music far from easy. They are adequate, but nothing
more. I suspect that this kind of music needs more to reveal
its true character. The solo voices are mostly so-so; the tenor
makes the best impression, whereas soprano and bass are too
operatic. In the four-part Ave maris stella and in the
solo sections of the Mass in D the blend falls short.
The singing and playing is generally too straightforward. More
differentiated articulation and greater dynamic shading would
have resulted in more convincing performances. The generous
reverberation is also problematic. It especially damages the
performance of the Concerto II. The Mass in F
has been recorded live. Here the synchronisation between choir
and orchestra is imperfect. Lastly, the booklet fails to list
the members of the choir, and the acoustic makes it impossible
to guess how large it is. It is my impression, though - also
on the basis of previous recordings - that it is larger than
was probably common in Gnocchi's time.

The booklet includes an essay in Italian on Gnocchi and his
music. There’s no English translation. Those who don't
understand Italian get the Wikipedia article on Gnocchi instead.
This is the first time I have seen a booklet where Wikipedia
is used as the main source of information. The English reader
deserves better. The lack of lyrics is easier to overcome as
the texts are well-known and can easily be found on the internet,
including translations.

All in all, this disc isn't much more than a curiosity. Gnocchi
may be an interesting figure, but so far his music hasn't convinced
me that we miss a lot if it remains in the archives. Maybe a
performance by a first-rate ensemble would make me change my
mind.

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